Don’t listen to the frog in your head: JFDI

My motto, as you’ll know if you’ve been reading my ramblings for any amount of time, is JFDI.

Just Do It. (I’m sure you can guess what the F stands for)

Don’t listen to your inner critical frog, JFDI.

I love it, because it means I get more shit done than most people I know. Is it always perfect? No. Is it ever perfect? Hell no. (No such thing)

But it is done, and it’s done to a very high standard because I have very high standards.

Most people obsess over getting stuff done, which means that they don’t tend to get stuff done… they just worry about it.

They worry about whether it’ll work. Whether it’ll be perfect. Whether it’ll be good enough. Whether it’ll be a waste of time or money or energy.

All that worry, and no action… All that time and energy spent on worrying, which could have been spent on getting something done.

So when I find someone else whose motto is JFDI, I’m always completely delighted. Dom, my Inner Circle Member, sent me this story today about a farmer called Christine Conder who bought a kilometre of fibre-optic cable, dug a trench, and put in her own 1GB per second broadband. That DIY problem-busting has evolved into B4RN, an internet service provider that serves all the parishes in her local Lune Valley.

It took 3 days and some elbow grease to do the initial work — connecting her farm to her neighbours’ so they’d have access to broadband again after the trees grew too tall.

Now, they’ve laid 2,000 miles of cable and connected a whole bunch of villages for just £30 a month each with a £150 connection fee.

Much better than BT’s less than stellar service.

Anyway — you can read the full story on the BBC’s website. The point is, one woman decided she wasn’t going to wait for BT to start serving rural communities properly (boy do I know how that feels). Instead, she got off her arse and sorted her own broadband out — and then moved onto everyone else.

Top stuff.

So, next time you’re umming and ahhing over whether or not to try something… next time that dickhead voice that shouts at you from inside your head that you’re not good enough or it won’t work… just shout it down by looking yourself firmly in the eye and saying:

JFDI.

Will it work? Maybe. But you know what? You’ll never bloody find out if you don’t at least give it a go.

Vicky Fraser is a copywriter, author, and entrepreneur. She really did run away with the circus… but when she’s not swinging from a trapeze, she’s showing other copywriters and small business owners how to work with better clients, make more money, and stop missing bathtimes, first words, and dinners with angry partners. In fact, she wrote the book on it. Get your copy here.

She covers the marketing essentials small business owners need to avoid wasting thousands of dollars and countless hours on needless struggle in their business. Her wisdom is perfect for those just starting out, and every business owner needs to read the three paragraphs starting at the bottom of page 220 regularly. They are that critical to your business.